The Catch-22 of Dublin: Discussion of the CEAS’ Joint-Decision Trap

The presented analysis examines the development of the common asylum system of the EU (also known as the “Dublin system”) and searches for a comprehensive answer to the question:"What explains the stagnant development of the Dublin system and how is the migrant crisis influencing this process?". Throughout the research it has been argued that a “Joint-Decision Trap” (JDT) of EU governance has been restricting faster progress on the development of CEAS, whereas the concrete evolution of the Dublin Regulation has been scrutinized for introducing a more detailed and precised answer. Franz W. Scharpf’s JDT theory has been referenced as a core framework from which five hypotheses have been derived and tested. In regard to the second part of the question, the findings of this study form the expectation that the crisis will act as a catalyst factor which will push for further Europeanization of the refugee policies across Europe. The metaphor of a “Catch-22” is used to emphasize that the current development of the CEAS is similar to what a “Catch-22” symbolizes: a problematic situation for which the solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem itself.